Kim Young-Min, Akana Reece V, Sun Chang, Laveroni Olivia, Jerby Livnat
Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine; Stanford, CA, USA.
Cancer Biology Program, Stanford University; Stanford, CA, USA.
bioRxiv. 2025 Mar 25:2025.03.21.644686. doi: 10.1101/2025.03.21.644686.
Insufficient infiltration of cytotoxic lymphocytes to solid tumors limits the efficacy of immunotherapies and cell therapies. Here, we report a programmable mechanism to mobilize Natural Killer (NK) and T cells to breast cancer tumors by engineering these cells to express orphan and metabolite-sensing G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). First, in vivo and in vitro CRISPR activation screens in NK-92 cells identified , , , , , and as top enhancers of both tumor infiltration and chemotaxis to breast cancer. These genes equip NK and T cells with the ability to sense and migrate to chemoattracting metabolites such as 7α,25-dihydroxycholesterol and other factors released from breast cancer. Based on Perturb-seq and functional investigations, GPR183 also enhances effector functions, such that engineering NK and CAR NK cells to express GPR183 enhances their ability to migrate to, infiltrate, and control breast cancer tumors. Our study uncovered metabolite-based tumor immune recruitment mechanisms, opening avenues for spatially targeted cell therapies.
细胞毒性淋巴细胞对实体瘤的浸润不足限制了免疫疗法和细胞疗法的疗效。在此,我们报告了一种可编程机制,通过对自然杀伤(NK)细胞和T细胞进行工程改造,使其表达孤儿和代谢物感应G蛋白偶联受体(GPCR),从而将这些细胞动员至乳腺癌肿瘤部位。首先,在NK-92细胞中进行的体内和体外CRISPR激活筛选确定了 、 、 、 、 和 是肿瘤浸润和对乳腺癌趋化性的顶级增强子。这些基因使NK细胞和T细胞具备感知并迁移至化学吸引性代谢物(如7α,25-二羟基胆固醇)以及乳腺癌释放的其他因子的能力。基于Perturb-seq和功能研究,GPR183还增强了效应功能,因此对NK细胞和嵌合抗原受体NK细胞进行工程改造使其表达GPR183,可增强它们迁移至、浸润并控制乳腺癌肿瘤的能力。我们的研究揭示了基于代谢物的肿瘤免疫募集机制,为空间靶向细胞疗法开辟了道路。